


Post-Ritual

by TrueSoprano



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 16:18:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8168195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueSoprano/pseuds/TrueSoprano
Summary: Tarja Amell has given Loghain Mac Tir the one thing he doesn't deserve: a reason to live. After he completes the ritual with Morrigan, he comforts the Warden the night before the battle.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write about their first time, shortly after the first kiss fic I just wrote, but this came more naturally to me. I guess I'm just not gonna post any fics in chronological order... :/
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this, though. I'm actually really happy with it.

“There’s a way to save us both.”

Loghain blinked. “What?”

“Listen to me,” Tarja looked up at him, an expression of determination on her face. “Morrigan just told me there’s a way to ensure that no one will die. It’s the reason she’s been traveling with us. It was her plan the whole time.”

He paused, then let out a quick breath. “Well, what’s involved?”

She breathed in deeply. This wouldn’t be easy to tell him.

“Well… that’s the thing. You have to sleep with her.”

His face was stone cold, but she could tell he was trying to process what he just heard.

“Is this some kind of joke?” Eyes burning with anger, he walked towards her, forcing her to subconsciously step back.

“Why would I joke about this?”

“You… you have a point. It wouldn’t be like you to make something like this up. But even so, I can’t. I can’t sleep with another woman the night before I-“

“Please! Do it for me, Loghain!”

“Why do you want me to live so much? Why am I so important to you?”

Her pupils dilated. “You know the answer, Loghain!”

“Then what is it?”

She had been backed against the wall, his eyes flashing as he stared her down. She felt her heart rise to the top of her chest, beating loudly. 

“Tell me why.”

She hesitated, then took a deep breath.

“I love you.”

His face softened. After a pause, he placed a hand on her cheek.

“I love you. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

He leaned down as if to kiss her, but hesitated. He then briskly walked out of the room as she sunk to the ground.

***

She found herself on the main floor, seated next to the fireplace. She knew she needed to be well rested for the upcoming battle, but nerves kept her awake. Plus, she just couldn’t be in her quarters at the time, considering how close they were to Morrigan’s. 

She had spent the past couple of hours with her thoughts. She was OK with this. Uncomfortable, but OK, if it meant a chance of survival. At least he had agreed to it. It was a ritual, not an act of intimacy. Yet judging by the utterly immodest sounds coming from Morrigan, moans and gasps that could be heard all throughout the castle, she swore, perhaps her intentions weren’t as noble as she claimed.

She pushed the thought out of her head and tried to clear her mind. She thought of going outside to practice her magic, but the night was cold and unforgiving.

Death scared her, more than she wanted to admit. The only thing that scared her more was living the rest of her life without him. Morrigan’s ritual was hope, not certainty.

She clasped her shaking hands together, kneeling in front of the fireplace.

“I shall not be left to wander the drifting roads of the Fade,” she began to pray. She didn’t know many verses from the Chant of Light, besides the infamous Canticle of Transfigurations, but she found herself desperate this night. She had heard this one several times from some of the senior mages who were tasked with leaving the tower, and again at Ostagar, and it seemed fitting.

“For there is no darkness, nor death either, in the Maker’s Light, and nothing that He has wrought shall be lost.”

“I never took you for the praying sort.”

Startled, she turned to find Loghain casually leaning against the wall, dressed in a simple light tunic and breeches. There was a weariness in his eyes, a weariness she had never seen before.

“Oh… I’m sorry… I didn’t hear you enter!”

“No worries. Are you well?”

She stood up to walk towards him. “I think so.”

“I was just making tea. Would you like some?”

“Thank you.”

Tarja followed him to the kitchen, suddenly noticing that his hair was slightly damp and he smelled of soap. She stifled a small giggle at the thought of him attempting to wash Morrigan’s touch off. If anything, she felt slightly relieved.

Loghain grabbed two large mugs off a shelf and began to pour the contents of the steaming kettle into them. “It’s Tevinter spiced. The only kind I could find.”

“Sounds lovely.”

“How do you take yours?”

“Let me,” she said as she reached for a bowl of sugar and stirred a rather large spoonful into it. She attempted to hand him the spoon but he refused, taking his tea plain.

Not a word was said as they made their way back to the fireplace, sitting down next to each other on the couch. What exactly did you say to someone who completed a very intimate ritual at your insistence?

Once the tea had cooled down enough, she brought the mug to her lips and drank. The taste was quite pleasing to her, flavored with cinnamon, ginger, and other spices that were rarely found in Fereldan cuisine.

“Not bad,” Loghain said after he drank. “Strange, but not bad.”

She nodded, drinking more of the warm tea. It soothed her nerves only slightly.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Tarja?”

“We’re going into battle tomorrow. I have every right to be nervous.”

“Hence the prayers,” he stated, and she nodded, feeling the hot liquid warm her insides. She had made her mostly-negative opinions about the Chantry well known to him, yet faith itself was anything but clear to her.

“Just in case there is a Maker out there… we need him on our side.”

“Of course,” he replied, taking another long sip from his mug. “If it helps, I know exactly what you’re capable of in battle. Your magic is incredible!”

She set her empty mug down on the floor. “It’s the Archdemon I’m worried about.”

He placed a hand on her shoulder, turning to face her. “Well, if the ritual worked…”

“But what if she was wrong?”

There was a brief pause.

“What if it didn’t work? Or if she was lying?”

“She wasn’t lying. I… she did some sort of magic while she was… well… I don’t know what it was, but… there was something.”

She gave a heavy sigh. “But we won’t know until I slay the Archdemon.”

“You?” He cocked an eyebrow. She really didn’t want to have this argument again, but she was determined to talk him out of his suicidal plans.

“Yes, me. Because if it somehow doesn’t work, I won’t allow you to die for me.”

“Tarja, that’s ridiculous! If I die, I will have at least set some things right. And Maker, I need to after all I’ve done wrong. But if I lose you… the world will lose someone amazing. I’ll… I’ll lose the only person that makes me believe I can atone for everything.”

She felt a lump in her throat. “Loghain…”

There was nothing she could do to stop the tears. She hated herself for always being brought to tears this easily. She wanted to argue back, but she could only sob. Loghain had taken her into his arms, letting her lie on top of him as she cried into his chest. One hand rubbed circles around her back while the other held on to her head as he lightly kissed it.

“I love you, Tarja,” he said softly.

Her heart fluttered. She hadn’t expected those words to ever come out of his mouth. Even after her earlier confession. She felt her breathing slow down as she nuzzled into him, focusing on his heartbeat.

“I… really do mean what I said earlier. I love you too.”

And they held each other in silence, listening to each other breathe, occasionally placing a kiss on the other. She felt calm with her head against his chest, feeling it move up and down with each breath. She had never felt anything like this before. All of her past relationships in the circle were purely physical; she had never cared about another’s well-being like this. 

She reflected on what he had said about wanting to atone. Loghain possessed a kind of brutal honestly that was incredibly rare, which made his guilt even worse. But she had learned that he had always had good intentions, even with every sin he committed. Leadership required hard choices, required sacrifice, yet he had begun to admit that he regretted most of his sacrifices.

She shifted so that her face hovered over his, and he smiled at her. These smiles had become more common nowadays, but they always had a hint of regret, a feeling that he didn’t deserve the happiness he felt when he was with her.

She began to kiss the regret away.

Every kiss from her was a soft promise, a promise to give him a purpose, something to protect, something to live for. And as he kissed back, she could feel his own promises. Promises to not throw his life away, promises to learn from his mistakes, to spend the rest of his life atoning, if that’s what it took.

“Tarja,” he said in-between two long kisses.

“Yes?” she replied before he tilted her jaw to run his mouth across it.

“If you insist… that we both… survive tomorrow’s battle…” his words were punctuated by kisses to her neck, “…then so be it.”

“Good to hear that you’re finally seeing reason,” she said breathily as his teeth brushed against her nape, before setting his lips on it. Moving her hand up to his head, she pushed it slightly to encourage him. She let out a hard breath as he sucked, giving the spot a soft bite before letting go. 

“Now even the Archdemon will know you belong to me,” he said playfully, and she responded with a kiss to the tip of his nose.

“I appreciate it.”

Their lips met again, this time with more hunger and passion. She opened her mouth and allowed his tongue to trace the inside, eventually meeting it with her own tongue. She shifted her legs so that she straddled him, and he grabbed her ass and pulled her down.

“But if something goes wrong,” he groaned, “that witch will not be the last woman I would have slept with. Not if I have my way.”

Tarja started to grind against him, feeling him begin to grow hard. Her body was warm, and she knew it wasn’t just the tea. She ghosted her lips down his neck, undoing the top button of his tunic so she could reach further. But as much as she could worship every inch of his body, his beautiful body, muscled and scarred by years of battle, she wanted to address his immediate needs.

She then rolled off of him and motioned for him to sit up. She reached inside his breeches and pulled his hardening cock out. Gently gripping it, she started by placing a few soft kisses on it, followed by a lick to the entire length. She kissed the head before putting it into her mouth. 

Loghain gave a throaty chuckle as he gripped her head, guiding her. The sounds he made out of pleasure were enough to make her wet, in addition to the growing erection in her mouth. Her left hand moved from his knee to her crotch, attempting to alleviate some of the pressure, but she was more focused on pleasuring him.

Suddenly, he let go of her head and gently pushed her off of him.

“I feel like this isn’t the best place.”

“My quarters, then?” She hated being taken out of the mood so suddenly, but she agreed. The rest of the castle was probably asleep, but it would be shameful if anyone caught them in this public space.

“We should… move quietly,” Loghain stood as he attempted to place his cock back in his breeches, a difficult task. It eventually fit back in, but his erection was still obvious. “I do not wish to be seen like this.”

Tarja couldn’t help but laugh as she grabbed his hand, and the two quickly made their way upstairs and into her quarters. The second she shut the door, he had pinned her up against the wall, violently kissing her. He was voracious as he pressed his body to hers. He embraced her as he found the clasps on the back of her robes, sliding them off and letting them fall into a puddle of black cloth.

He nipped at her jaw as his hands ran along her back, unhooking the garment holding her breasts in place. He stepped back to allow his hand to reach between the two, teasing a nipple with his thumb.

He slowed down as his fingers brushed against the thin fabric covering her wetness. “I see you’ve already ruined your smalls,” he said cockily. “I see no further reason for you to keep wearing them.”

“Of course,” she said timidly, blushing. She loved it when he assured his dominance.

“So what are you waiting for? Take them off. Then lie on the bed for me.”

Tarja did just that, hiding nothing from him as she positioned herself. She watched Loghain with anticipation as he quickly stripped. Completely naked, he stood before the bed, eyes flashing hungrily as he took the view in.

“Well, aren’t you a beautiful thing,” he said, crawling on top of her. The way he talked to her was driving her wild.

He took a breast into his hand, giving it a squeeze before lowering his mouth onto it. She mewled as he licked and sucked it, eventually focusing on her nipple.

“Ahh… Lo… ghain…”

His hand had slipped between her thighs. He began with a few soft strokes on the outside before slipping two fingers inside. He pressed his palm to her clit and she began to grind against it. She breathed heavily as the pressure built up, eventually vocalizing.

“Loghain,” she moaned.

“Yes,” he growled, keeping his rhythm. “Scream my name. Let the entire castle know that I’d rather be with you than that witch.”

“Loghain!”

He pressed his thumb directly against her clit, circling it. She closed her eyes, continuing to grind against him, listening to his groans in her ear, feeling his hot breath.

“Lo… ghain…”

“Now come for me, Warden.”

Those words were what she needed to be pushed to the edge. She immodestly screamed, louder than she had ever before, as she crashed into his palm. He removed his fingers from her and placed them in his mouth, sucking her juices off.

“You enjoyed that,” he smiled before kissing her.

She nodded, still light-headed. “Now it’s my turn to please you.”

“I think I’ll take you like this tonight, in this position.” He spread her legs and guided his cock to her entrance, teasing her lips before giving a few shallow thrusts. She didn’t think she could come again so soon, but she didn’t care. She just wanted to be close to him, to feel full from his cock.

She felt him push farther in and she wrapped her legs around him. They fell into a steady rhythm, his mouth in an O-shape as he continued to thrust. He gripped the blankets under them as their rhythm grew slightly faster.

“Warden… Tarja…”

She panted under him, continuing to move faster. She held on to his back, feeling her hands slipping from the sweat but continuing to pull him down. She needed him. She wouldn’t let this be their last night together.

He finally slowed himself, giving a couple of short thrusts before releasing his seed inside of her with a loud moan. He pulled out of her slowly and rolled over to her left.

“Loghain…” she sighed as she pulled the covers over her. “Promise me that won’t be the last time.”

He blew out the bedside candle before joining her under the covers, gently grabbing her hand. “We will both survive the battle. This I promise.”

Maker, she hoped he was right. But all she could do now was snuggle against his chest as he wrapped his arm around her, waiting for sleep to take them.

“Loghain?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I love you too.”


End file.
